Falcon
Fairly well-rounded and flexible, but low total ammo |unlock = 42 |slot = 2 |price = $921,000 |mag = 20 |type = Assault Rifle |max_ammo = 80 |rate_of_fire = 700 |reload_time = 2.1 / 3.0 seconds |damage = 43 |accuracy = 10 |stability = 12 |concealment = 10 |threat = 22 }} The Falcon is a battle rifle added in the Update #30.1 along with the Big Bank Heist DLC. Overview The Falcon Rifle is a high-powered precision rifle very similar to the Eagle Heavy Rifle in terms of general stats, performance, and role. Like the Eagle Heavy, it is considered the middle ground between the M308 and higher level assault rifles, such as the AMR-16 or the AK.762. As a result, it is very powerful at medium range combat. However, without extensive modification, the Falcon's long-range accuracy and stability are somewhat lacking compared to the Eagle's. Both the Falcon Rifle and Eagle Heavy do damage; compared to the Eagle, the Falcon Rifle has a higher rate of fire and slightly less accuracy. The weapon can have its damage boosted to a maximum of using all the damage-focus mods it can use (Funnel of Fun Nozzle, a Retro or Marksman Foregrip, and the Auto Fire mod), which allows it to destroy virtually anything in it's path with powerful and accurate fire. As with the Eagle, the Falcon is exceptionally good at dispatching special enemies; Tazers and Cloakers should take no more than 3-4 headshots. Bulldozers may prove more challenging, but the Falcon's accuracy over range and rate of fire up close should allow it to perform acceptably against them in any situation. One possible advantage the Falcon Rifle has is unlocking attachments; while the Eagle Heavy needs Cards to unlock certain attachments, all attachments (except muzzle extensions, trigger modifications, and scopes) available for the Falcon can be unlocked by completing certain achievements and they are all relatively cheap to install; only for each mod. Since most achievements introduced in the new update can be unlocked within a single play-through, it is not uncommon to have 4 to 5 mods unlocked by the end of a session. It is important to note that the Falcon is significantly more costly compared to the Eagle Heavy and has a reputation requirement of , offsetting the availability of its mods and perhaps making the Eagle more appealing for low-level players. One other unusual quirk of the Falcon (and Eagle Heavy, in fact) is its superior accuracy when fired from the hip compared to most other assault rifles. It should be noted, however, that both rifles also lose accuracy when crouching and firing from the hip. Its precision when using full scopes is not influenced by crouching. Summary Pros: * High damage (can easily reach or surpass 50) * Reasonably high rate of fire * Can be modded into a high-power high-accuracy battle rifle for loud missions, or a high-power high-concealment compact rifle as a 'backup' stealth weapon * Can be "reload-cancelled" for a shorter top up duration (See Tips below) and a faster raise time * Surprisingly good accuracy when fired from the hip Cons: * Subpar accuracy and poor stability without modifications and skill bonuses * Low total ammo * Aside from universal mods, all mods must be unlocked by completing achievements * An expensive investment for newer players, considering the level at which it unlocks Tips *The Falcon has a rather high amount of full-auto recoil, so firing in short controlled bursts is recommended. One can also switch the rifle to semi-automatic mode to circumvent the issue, but the kick up from repeated shots may still cause aiming problems. *The Falcon is generally efficient with ammo pickups, replenishing to rounds per pickup. This, combined with its low total ammo, makes replenishing the player's ammo reserve a trivial matter. The Extended Magazine is recommended if the player wants to keep on firing for longer. *The Falcon reloads surprisingly quickly for an assault rifle, even without the bonuses from Skills. This is especially noticeable if the magazine is empty - the Falcon takes almost no extra time to reload compared to most other weapons. **There is currently an exploitable trick involving the Falcon: holding down the aim button while reloading will "skip out" the last few frames of the process and automatically enter aiming mode, thus giving the player an advantage in combat. *The Falcon's base Concealment is rather low, but can be optimized with the CQB Foregrip, Tactical Grip and CQB Stock for a respectable Concealment value of . Whilst not the most concealable primary weapon, the Falcon can still make for a fairly powerful backup option. Builds Optimized for maximum damage * This high damage ( ) build struggles with poor accuracy for a rifle ( ), though this can be improved by adding Single Fire, especially with the Sharpshooter skill. The already poor base concealment drops to 6. (A similar Eagle Heavy build gives better accuracy for only slightly worse concealment.) ** Wooden Foregrip ( , , ) ** Funnel of Fun Nozzle ( , , ) ** Tactical Grip ( , ) ** Marksman Stock ( , , ) Balanced *This build provides a balanced rating of Damage ( ) ( with Enforcer tier 5 bonus) and Stability ( ) (acing the Sharpshooter skill brings it up to ). The Accuracy rating is and the Threat level is (having Oppressor brings this up to ). Concealment is not of concern in this build ( ). ** Wooden Foregrip ( , , ) ** Tactical Grip ( , ) ** Marksman Stock ( , , ) ** Extended Magazine ( , , , ) ** Speculator Sight ( , ) ** Military Laser Module ( , ) ** Competitor's Compensator ( , , , , ) Optionally, the Wooden Foregrip could be changed for the Marksman Foregrip and the Competitor's Compensator could also be switched for the Tactical Compensator, allowing for increased accuracy (~ ) at the cost of stability. This is probably only advisable if you have the Sharpshooter (Ace) and Leadership (Ace) skills to compensate for the increased recoil. Using the Wooden Stock may also help. Optimized for Concealment *This build is purely for those who want a good concealable primary. The Concealment is , however the Accuracy is low at only . When using a suppressor it is highly recommended to have Silent Killer and The Professional aced; supplementing the damage and stability and bringing the Accuracy to . Sharpshooter, a low-level Technician skill, will also help improve accuracy if firing in semi-automatic mode. ** Tactical Grip ( , ) ** CQB Stock ( ) ** CQB Foregrip ( , , ) If the gun is intended for a dependable and solid backup weapon for when a heist goes loud, installing the Stubby Compensator grants a modest increase in damage and a decent increase in stability - this should grant a total of around damage - without compromising the concealment level. Available modifications Barrel Barrel ext. Custom Gadget Grip Magazine Sight Stock Trivia *The Falcon Rifle, both in name and design, was based on the Fabrique Nationale FAL battle rifle or more precisely, the SA-58, which is the paratrooper variant of the FAL. The stamping on the left side of the weapon confirms this. *The Falcon Rifle is the sole weapon introduced in the Big Bank DLC pack, and is up to this point, the only paid DLC weapon in the series that does not have any other companion weapons. **It also has the highest amount of unique attachments for a DLC weapon at a remarkable , all unlockable via achievements. As of current, the Falcon is the weapon with the most number of unique attachments in-game. **It is also the only DLC weapon to not have any achievements that requires the usage of itself. *Update 30.3 increased the Falcon's rate of fire from to . *The original muzzle brake on the rifle can be seen to clip through any barrel attachements put onto the rifle. *The FAL was used early on in the movie HEAT, a movie this game refrences often. It is possible to exactly replicate the version seen in the movie by adding the CQB stock. * The FAL is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and as such would do as much damage per shot as the M308, which is based on the M-14. The 7.62x51mm NATO round is also used in sniper rifles. In theory, this should make the on target effect the same. Battle rifles made for this round were rarely used in fully automatic fire because of the excessive recoil, but compensated for this with their long range and hard hitting nature. Gallery 2014-06-18 00003.jpg|The default Falcon rifle. 2014-06-18_00002.jpg|The Falcon with 5 mods attached (Competitor's Compensator, Tactical Grip, Marksman Stock, Wooden Foregrip, Speculator Sight). 2014-06-18 00004.jpg|The Falcon with 7 mods attached (Speculator Sight, Tactical Grip, Marksman Stock, Extended Magazine, Wooden Handguard, Competitor's Compensator, Military Laser Module) 2014-08-08 00001.jpg|The Falcon with a max concealment build (CQB Foregrip, Tactical Grip, CQB Stock, Low Profile Suppressor, and Compact Laser Module).